


In The Wrong

by Comp_Lady



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Future Character Death, Gen, References to Suicide, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-30
Updated: 2013-05-30
Packaged: 2017-12-13 10:01:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/823008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comp_Lady/pseuds/Comp_Lady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reality brings disaster upon those least deserving of it. Saying shit you mean, little jokes and off-hand comments, make it all the more painful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In The Wrong

The entire world had narrowed to a single point. As if they were in the middle of some horrible dream. A scene out of a movie; the scene where everything goes to horse shit. Except this wasn't a dream, or a movie, or some piece of fiction. This was all horribly real.

There had been a mob. Far too many zombies for the Achievements Hunters to fight off, even with the additional help of the three local kids (adults really, they couldn't have been any older than the lads). So they ran, fighting off whatever got in their way. The aim was to get out of sight. Zombies hunted by sight, if the prey was out of sight then they were out of whatever mind that the zombies had left. It was the local kids that led them through the ruins of the town. Bobbing and weaving through empty houses and clumps of woodland.

The zombies had fallen behind, their groans and screams faded off into the distance.

The shuffle of broken shingles is the only warning they get before Gavin is jumped. A zombie launches off the roof of a nearby garage. Time seems to speed up the moment they hit the ground. Rotting blood-stained teeth latching onto the arm the Gavin brings up in defense. Michael swings his hatchet and lands the hit. A smooth slice into the monster's head that just doesn’t go deep enough. Ray grabs Gavin by the shoulders and drags him backwards. The pair stumble back and fall; a rock bites into Ray's hip, Gavin curls around his arm and lets out a noise that is something between a gasp and a sob.

A shotgun blast sends rotten blood and grey matter flying.

One of the locals, a girl, stands with the gun at her shoulder. Her breaths come in great heaving gasps and her eyes are wild when she turns to Gavin. The shotgun still at her shoulder and now aiming for him.

Michael shoves the muzzle of the gun away, blocking Gavin from the girl's sight. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"What- your buddy there just got bitten! In a fuckin day he's gonna die and then it'll just be a matter of time before he turns into another fucking monster!"

Michael clenches his jaw tight enough to hurt, tears swim in his eyes, "I'm still not going to let you kill him you crazy bitch!"

"He's already fucking dead, dipshit!" she screams, red blotches rising on her cheeks.

There's a sharp tug at the girl's collar. Michael is in her face the next instant, hands twisted in her shirt, "shut up, you-"

"Michael!"

"Hey!"

The pair are pulled apart; Jack has Michael by the shoulders and the girl is being held back by the one boy of the local trio.

"Hey! Calm down Claire!" the boy says, glancing over his shoulder to where Jack is working on calming down a shaking Michael.

"Calm down? Fuck being calm! Fuck you, Josh! You and Laura both know I'm telling the goddamned truth."

The other girl, Laura, scoffs, "That may be true but I'm pretty sure shooting their friends in the face is a dick move."

Before Claire can retort she's being dragged off by Josh; Laura walking to where Jack and Michael have rejoined the huddle around Gavin.

None of the glance at Laura when she approaches, their focus is on Gavin. Geoff's face is pinched as he examines the bite on Gavin's arm. The boy's entire sleeve is soaked, his blood already taking on the blackened tint and thickening associated with the infection. The skin is torn, muscle visible and twitching. All of them know that there is no helping this. No way to evade the inevitable.

"What are our options?" Geoff asks, voice tight.

"I- what?" Laura stutters in confusion.

He is on his feet and looming over her before she can even begin to make sense of the question.

"Options." He emphasizes," because, despite what dumb ideas your fucked up friend has, I'm not going to let you or her shoot him like some animal."

"You're part of a settled Safe-City," Jack cuts in, "there is no way that _no one_ ever gets bitten. So you have to have something in place for those that are. Some way for them to... to die with a little bit of dignity."

"Or do you just put down your friends like rabid animals?" Geoff asks between clenched teeth.

"Yea- no! No, we- we have the pyre." Laura stammers.

"And what the hell is that?"

Laura glanced over at Gavin, "How he chooses to die is up to him. Most people choose The Meds though. Either way, on-"

"What are "The Meds"?" Ryan asks without looking up from bandaging Gavin's arm.

"It's a medication," Laura shrugs, "collected by some of our more magpie inclined members at the start of all this. Once taken the person dies almost instantly. It's relatively painless. An injection is what it is, and beside that there is always oth-"

"So it's euthanasia." Ryan turns to her.

Gavin lets out a strangled yelping noise at the same time both Ray and Michael start yelling in unison at Laura. She cringes away from the onslaught before yelling back at them.

"It's their own damn choice! Some don't even choose The Meds; some hang themselves or shoot their heads off, or choose any of the other fucking ways they can kill themselves. Hemlock is a pretty fucking popular poison and yet they stay awake for the entire fucking time! It's all your own damn choice. _Either way_ , once the person is dead they're put in a coffin on the pyre and it's lit. Everything is safe; it's all within city walls, offset from the main living area and there are guards."

Jack and Geoff stare at her for a moment before turning and moving closer to Gavin. Laura watches as the six of them discuss amongst themselves. A glance over her shoulder tells Laura that Josh and Claire left, not a major surprise to her. There was no way that Josh would have trusted Claire enough to stay. Bringing someone back to the Safe-City, even for a dignified death, was a risk. Now it was just time to see what the group chose.

Gavin had curled up, arms on his knees, and buried his face in the circle his arms created. His shoulders shake from crying. Ray has tangled his hands in the side of Gavin's jacket, Michael sitting on a tire nest to them. Michael couldn't sit still, constantly shifting about. Altogether the six of them form a loose circle.

Laura settles herself on a rock, watching the discussion unfold. She can't actually hear most of what's being said, aside from the odd exclamation, but she can _see_ the internal conflict they are dealing with.

To be honest Laura is quite happy she isn't in their place.

She isn't sure how much time passes as she waits for the Achievement Hunters to come to a decision. She watches the sun crawl across the sky and listens for the approach of unwanted (and probably undead) visitors. She jumps every time one of them yells, a tormented _"fuck you"_ or _"what the hell"_ echoing off into the distance. Laura startles right off her seat when Michael leaps up and kicks at the tire he’s been sitting on. It doesn't do much more than make the tire hop and inch or so with each kick.

It's the scream the rips its way out of his throat that makes Laura cringe, tears springing in her eyes. Rage and grief and _pain_ dragged through broken glass. It isn't an unfamiliar sound in the times they are living in; the wretched sound of family losing one of its members.

* * *

With a broken scream Michael slams his foot into the tire he had been sitting on. It hardly budged, and part of Michael was aware of Gavin jolting away, Ray saying something to him. This anger is a comfort though. Something that has stayed with him, sustained him, through all of this. Until now.

When Ryan pulls at Michael's shoulders all the strength abruptly leaves the younger man, and Ryan finds himself supporting Michael as he slides to the ground.

"It's not fair. It's not FAIR!" Michael's voice rises into a sharp crack.

Ryan kneels next to Michael, "It isn't; nothing is fair anymore. There just isn't any other option."

Michael doesn't say anything for a long while. The only sound is the occasional hitch of Gavin's breath. Eventually he mutters that "everything is such bullshit now" as he fusses with his backpack.

Ryan shares a helpless look with Jack. They all knew, logically, that this was a possibility. hey were not immune to the infection, no one was, so of course there was the chance that one of them would be bitten. No matter how careful they were. Human nature persisted though, and as time passed the group grew more confident that _nothing_ would get at them. A fool's hope. Reality love to bring disaster upon those who least deserve it.

"I wish we were wrong."

Jack, who had been watching Geoff attempt to give Gavin some comfort, jumped and turned to Ray. Ray's gaze was locked on his hands, defeat in every line of the young man's body.

"What do you mean 'wrong'?" Jack asks, sitting next to Ray.

Ray doesn't look up, "Before, when... before all of this. When everything was normal. All of the zombie games we played..."

Jack didn't say anything, he wasn't positive where Ray was going with this but it couldn't be good.

"During one of them Michael— he made a joke. He said that out of all of us Gav would probably be the first to—" Ray buries his face in his hands.

Jack suddenly feels _very_ ill.

"He said Gav would be the first to die in a zombie apocalypse." Ray whispers, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands.

"Ray—"

"It was a joke!" He continues, heedless of Jack, "It was a _joke_ , and we all laughed. _We agreed_."

Ray look around at the others, gripping the rock he's sitting on with white-knuckled hands, before looking back down. His voice is thin and scratchy when he speaks.

"I wish we were wrong. Why weren't we wrong?"

**Author's Note:**

> [Hey! You can find me on Tumblr, come chat :D](http://comp-lady.tumblr.com)


End file.
